Although the world's growing dependence on petroleum seems to guarantee it a prosperous future, Gulf Oil Corp. has been casting a covetous eye on companies in unrelated industries. Last week it announced which it would like to pick: Chicago's CNA Financial Corp. (1972 revenue: $1.6 billion), which has interests in insurance, consumer credit and real estate. Gulf proposes to pay in securities worth roughly $800 million, making the prospective acquisition one of the biggest ever.
By taking over CNA, Gulf management hopes to buy a form of profit insurance. Kuwait, from whose...
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